Downstreet Art Awarded $10,000 NEA Art Works Grant

2014-04-29

NORTH ADAMS, MASS. - Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) has announced that its Berkshire Cultural Resource Center (BCRC) initiation, DownStreet Art, was awarded a $10,000 NEA Art Works grant by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

The funding, for this year's DownStreet Art effort, will be used to increase marketing efforts, revive the mural project, and to support the DownStreet Art Associate Gallery Manager Program and DownStreet Art Thursdays.

NEA Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, "The NEA is pleased to announce that DownStreet Art 2014 is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

"Receiving funding from the National Endowment for the Arts' 'Art Works' program validates in a very public way the hard work that so many are doing to revitalize DownStreet North Adams, utilizing the creative economy and the arts as a tool," said BCRC Director Jonathan Secor.

"We are looking forward to a great summer of pop-up galleries, new large-scale murals, over three dozen exhibitions, and of course DownStreet Art Thursdays, the last Thursday of every month," Secor said.

According to the NEA, Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts.

The NEA received 1,515 eligible applications under the Art Workscategory, requesting more than $76 million in funding. Of those applications, 886 are recommended for grants for a total of $25.8 million.

For more information, go to www.mcla.edu. For a complete list of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, go to the NEA website at arts.gov.